They do it four times a day and, throughout 50 years of marriage, it has kept the sparks flying for Janny and Tim Henneveld.

The Rotorua couple share two big passions: each other – and the word game Scrabble. They get the board and
tiles out in the morning, before lunch, in the afternoon and just before bedtime, every single day.

The pair first started playing as a fun way of improving their English when they came to New Zealand from Holland in 1974. Then, as time went on, the devoted duo – who have now been married for half a century – realised that they couldn’t get enough of the iconic word game. They were soon playing several times a day.

“We got the Scrabble bug, and now we have a routine of playing four times each day – with a bit of gin at the game before bedtime,” smiles Janny (75). They both reckon playing so much Scrabble in the last 36 years has helped to keep them in wedded bliss. “The challenge and the competition certainly keeps our relationship vibrant,” reveals Tim (76), with a grin.

It’s not always smiles over the letter tiles, though, and there are sometimes fierce discussions over whether or not a word is allowed. But Tim and Janny say they love each other too much to let a game get in the way, and never go to bed without resolving an argument.

“You can have a winning streak followed by a losing streak, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” explains Tim. But, over the years, their scores have worked out to be remarkably even. They once added up all their marks from the Scrabble booklets they fill in and, after totting up several months worth, found only three points
separated their total scores.

They are so devoted to the game, they even started a Scrabble club, spicing up the action with group sessions at their home as well as travelling to tournaments around the country together.

“If we weren’t playing Scrabble so much, we’d probably just be sitting on the couch watching lots of TV,” says Tim. Janny says having a hubby who loves to play Scrabble as much as she does makes her the envy of all her friends and she often recommends it to other couples whose relationship needs a love boost.

“They say to me, ‘Oh, I’m so jealous because my husband never wants to play Scrabble with me,’” she says. “It reminds me how lucky I am to have Tim. It’s a great way to keep our brains busy and spend some quality time together.”

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